Latest Gambling News: South Africa’s National Regulator Urges Provinces To Enforce Advertising Laws, and more

Catch up on some of the stories our gambling compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

South Africa’s National Regulator Urges Provinces To Enforce Advertising Laws

South Africa’s National Gambling Board (NGB) has urged the country’s Provincial Licensing Authorities (PLAs) to reinforce national gambling advertising laws and file regular reports on their efforts and progress.

The NGB was tasked during October’s National Gambling Policy Council meeting with tackling advertisements and promotions said to contravene the 2004 National Gambling Act (NGA), in collaboration with the PLAs.

The focus is on advertising and promotions deemed to be unlawful, misleading or targeted at minors. According to the national regulator, ads need to include messages about responsible gaming while “lewd and indecent language and images”, suggestions of guaranteed success, claims that gambling will solve money problems or is a skill-based activity, are all forbidden.

"Further, there is a prohibition on advertising that encourages the removal of a person from the register of excluded persons, or that promotes gambling as ‘free’ or ‘discounted’ in a way that serves as an improper inducement,” the NGB said.

The PLAs were advised to hold comprehensive reviews of billboards and all other advertising channels, broadcast and social media as well as the impact of influencers, brand ambassadors and social media personalities.

“Offending materials” should be removed by the PLAs, even if the content belongs to operators outside their province. The process includes submitting "comprehensive" reports on their actions within 30 days of getting the NGB template and every quarter after that.

"The cooperation of all PLAs in enforcing these requirements is critical to ensuring a fair, transparent and socially responsible gambling environment. Consequently, the NGB issues this communication in the spirit of continued cooperation, consistency and joint regulatory oversight”, the notice said.

BOS Chief Fires Back Against ATG’s Calls For Gambling Tax Increase

Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general of the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS), has pitted his views against ATG’s calls for Sweden to follow the UK’s lead in hiking gambling taxes.

In a blog post on December 2, ATG CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth urged the Swedish government to tax gambling by vertical based on risk of gambling harm and contribution to society, as proposed by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her November budget. In those proposals, online casinos are hit the hardest while horseracing was left unscathed.

In the post, Skarplöth said: “Since the gambling tax was increased in July 2024, the Swedish government faces the same choice as the British one. Either we continue to pretend that all forms of gambling are equal – or we tax according to actual risk and benefit.”

In response to Skarplöth’s comments, Hoffstedt branded what he is proposing as “self-harm” to the country’s market.

He emphasised that higher taxes would likely push players toward unlicensed operators, exacerbating the risks to consumers and undermining efforts to protect them. “Higher taxes don’t reduce risk; they push players offshore, weaken consumer protection and shrink the regulated ecosystem,” he added.

Hoffstedt’s remarks also pointed out an interesting anomaly in the Swedish gambling channelisation rate when it comes to horseracing. While online casino gambling suffers from a relatively low channelisation rate, with a significant portion of players turning to unlicensed platforms, the channelisation rate for horseracing betting is between 98 and 99 percent.

So in this case, Hoffstedt suggested that for better player protection, the government could lower taxes on online casinos and raise taxes on horseracing betting, which already has a high level of regulation and oversight.

Further supporting his position, the BOS chief referenced recent data from the trade association, which shows that problem gambling rates have not increased since online casinos entered the Swedish market. According to the trade body, the prevalence of problem gambling is highest in the lottery vertical, not online casinos.

“The solution for problem gamblers is not higher taxation; it is regulation,” Hoffstedt concluded. He argued that channelisation is key to protecting consumers and promoting responsible gambling policies.

KSA Provides Funding To National Partnership Set Up To Detect Problem Gamblers

The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) will provide nearly €2m to fund a new national partnership to detect harmful gambling at an early stage that is modelled on an existing body which identifies alcohol abusers.

The Early Detection of Gambling Harm Partnership (SVSG) aims to identify problem gamblers quickly to prevent their issues from getting worse. The partnership includes the national association of addiction specialists, local health services and debt advice professionals.

In turn, these groups will work closely with addiction treatment units, local government authorities and peer support groups.

KSA chairman Michel Groothuizen said: “Many organisations have been working hard for years to reduce gambling harm, but often in isolation. With this partnership, we permanently bring together knowledge, healthcare, debt counselling and local partners. This makes it easier to find help, and players can get the support they need more quickly.”

Around 209,000 people in the Netherlands are thought to be at high risk of gambling addiction, but only a small proportion seek treatment, according to the KSA.

The funding comes from the Addiction Prevention Fund, which is financed by a levy on legal gambling operators. The new organisation will be trialled in five municipalities in 2026, with the aim of extending it to a minimum of 15 in 2027, and the structure reflects the Early Detection of Alcohol Problems Partnership set up in 2019.

Nigerian Senate Passes Central Gambling Bill

Nigeria’s Senate has passed the Central Gaming Bill 2025, which seeks to establish a unified national framework for regulating online gambling operations.

The bill, which the House of Representatives forwarded for concurrence, was read for the third time and approved, and now awaits transmission to President Bola Tinubu for his assent.

During the reading, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele of the APC, Ekiti Central, explained that this bill would repeal the National Lottery Act No. 7 of 2005 and the National Lottery (Amendment) Act No. 6 of 2017 and introduce a new legal framework to regulate the operation of online and remote gaming across Nigeria’s federating units.

The bill also establishes guidelines for the conduct of gaming in the Federal Capital Territory and strengthens revenue generation.

The document establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for gaming through eight parts.

Parts I and II cover the creation of a new Central Gaming Commission and its core functions.

Part III covers the appointment and conditions of service for the director-general, secretary and other staff, ensuring strong management and operational efficiency.

Part IV outlines financial provisions, such as funding sources, expenditure procedures, revenue-sharing between federal and state regulators, and accountability through annual reports and external audits.

Part V regulates online and remote gaming by setting licensing rules, imposing penalties for unlicensed activity, and detailing financial reporting requirements, forming a robust system for oversight and compliance.

This section also mandates the creation of a central online gaming monitoring system and a National Computer Emergency Response Team platform to bolster cybersecurity.

It also sets out the restrictions on gaming activities, the conditions for appointing gaming agents and various other measures designed to protect players better.

Parts VI to VIII outline the penalties to be imposed on illegal operators, as well as those that the newly formed regulator can impose.

It also contains all other miscellaneous provisions, such as legal protections for the regulator, indemnification for its officers, regulatory powers vested in the President, and the repeal of existing laws to ensure a smooth transition into the new framework.

New British Columbia Gaming Act To Launch In 2026

British Columbia’s new Gaming Control Act for 2026 will go into effect in April, seeking to prevent money laundering, fraud and encourage responsible gambling through stronger regulations.

Coming into effect on April 13, 2026, the new act will update the existing regulatory framework and introduce new regulations for the gaming industry. The Gaming Control Act was passed back in 2022 to address recommendations from two independent reviews that found a need to more effectively address money laundering.

Among the recommendations of those reviews were creating an independent gambling regulator, clarifying the roles and responsibilities between the regulator and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), establishing a standards-based regulatory model, making money laundering the responsibility of the regulator, and allowing the regulator to issue directives to BCLC without consent of the relevant government minister.

“Money laundering is a serious issue in our province and across the country, and strong oversight is needed to prevent it,” Nina Krieger, minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, said in a statement.

“The new act creates a strong regulatory framework so that the Independent Gambling Control Office, our new independent regulator, can more effectively address criminal activity and protect people in B.C.,” Krieger said.

The new regulator will be responsible for regulatory oversight of gambling operated by the BCLC, charitable gaming and horseracing. This allows for new regulations to help prevent and detect problem gambling and unlawful activity in casinos and online.

In a report released in June 2022, former B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen found that from 2008 to 2018 casinos in the province accepted hundreds of millions of dollars linked to organized crime and the drug trade.

Maine Bill Seeks To Prohibit Online Sweepstakes

A bill prefiled in the Maine legislature by the state’s Department of Public Safety seeks to clarify that operating or promoting an online sweepstakes games using a dual-currency system of payment constitutes unlawful gambling.

The legislative document was referred Wednesday (December 3) to the Senate Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs. Under the bill, online sweepstakes that simulate casino-style gaming, including slot machines, poker and other table games, lottery games, bingo or sports betting, would be illegal.

A dual-currency system of payment refers to the practice of using more than one system of coins or tokens to facilitate game play. The bill would allow the Gambling Control Unit or Gambling Control Board within the department to revoke a gaming license if a licensee is found to operate or promote online sweepstakes games.

Anyone operating or promoting an online sweepstakes game would face a fine between $10,000 and $100,000, according to the bill’s primary sponsor Senator Craig Hickman, a Democrat. All fines would be distributed to the state’s Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund.

The Maine legislative session is scheduled to begin on January 7, 2026.

In 2025, California, Connecticut, Montana and New Jersey have passed legislation to prohibit online sweepstakes games. A similar bill is pending the signature of New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

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